Meet Our Program
You spend a lot of time in school when you are launching a new career. After all, shouldn't that time be fun?
Meet Our Students
What’s it like to be a CareerWize student? Meet your instructor, your fellow students, and be part of a fabulous community.
Meet Our Team
Medical Coding is all we do, and we love it. With decades of experience, we know exactly what makes a good coder.
We Are All About Medical Coding
We are all about medical coding. That is our passion. That is our focus. That is our calling.
Quality training is simply not enough. We believe that our success is entirely built around the success of our graduates. And that means jobs. See how one of our founders changed another medical industry.
Getting a Job—What Really Matters
There are a lot of schools that offer training in medical coding—and virtually all the training is good. Virtually all of it will prepare you to take one of the certification tests. But almost none of them will get you the experience you need to get a job. This is what makes CareerWize completely different from any other training school, package, or program.
Do I Need A College Degree?
- Anatomy & Disease
- Pharmacology / Drugs
- Physiology
- Medical Language
- Health Information Management
- Ethics, Laws, & Regulations
- Reimbursement Systems & Procedures
- Medical documentation
- Diagnostic Coding
- Procedural Coding
This All Sounds Great But What Is Medical Coding?
In a nutshell, as a medical coder, you will review medical documents, such as physician notes and medical laboratory results, and then assign universal codes to the diagnoses, procedures, and any equipment and supplies that were used.
Medical coding specialists are employed by:- Hospitals
- Coding and Billing Services
- Skilled Nursing Facilities
- Computer Software Companies
- Home Health Agencies
- Government Agencies
- Physician Offices
- Clinics
- Consulting Firms
- Insurance Companies
- Veterinarian’s Office
Make no mistake, medical coding is not a dead-end job. No matter where your career begins in medical coding, you can continue to learn, grow, and develop your skills in a number of ways—with much greater income potential. The fiver video on what is medical coding.
But You Will Need Certification
While there is no formal degree requirement to work as a Medical Coder, you will need to become certified. This shows potential employers your commitment to medical coding and your knowledge and competence in the field.
There are other benefits that come with being certified…things like
- On average, certified coders make a higher salary than non-certified coders.
- Certification allows coders to specialize and move upward in their careers.
- Certification ensures that coders understand the ethics and laws that guide the industry.
- Certified coders will stand apart from non-certified coders.
- Many states and employers use only certified coders for claims review positions.
Once you graduate, you will have options for your certification because there are different certifying bodies. You will want to know about two organizations and their introductory certifications:
AAPCs Certified Professional Coder Certification or CPC© exam. This widely respected certification demonstrates your expertise in medical coding in physician office settings.
AHIMAs Certified Coding Association Certification or CCA©. This recognized standard of achievement demonstrates your coding competencies across all both hospital and physician settings.
But remember how there are always career advancement opportunities in this field? Here are other certifications for coders who want to gain higher credentials and specialist in specific types of coding:
AAPC offers the following advanced credentials:
- Certified Outpatient Coders (COC®)
- Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC®)
- Certified Risk Adjustment Coder (CRC®)
AHIMA offers the following advanced credentials:
Certified Coding Specialist (CCS®)
Certified Coding Specialist- Physician-based(CCS- P®)
Which Certification Is Right For You?
As someone looking to start a new career, it can be difficult to know what is the right track to take. You need to choose a quality educational track that directs you toward the right certification.
For entry-level medical coders, the CPC and the CCA credential are both nationally recognized and respected. Neither one is “better” than the other. They both require you to take a certification exam to earn their national coding credential.
If you think you might be interested in a career coding for a physician’s office doing outpatient coding, then the CPC certification would be a great choice. Medical coders working in the physician office setting may work in the facility, with a 3rd-party-coding firm, or at home.
If you are interested in coding for hospitals and want to focus on inpatient coding (or if you think you may want to transition to inpatient coding in the future), the CCA would be a great credential to have because it demonstrates competency across all settings, including hospitals and physician offices.
This is a serious question when it comes to your future. If you want to learn more about the difference between Physician-based and Hospital Coding, click here. [this will take them to the product listing page.
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